The Pulse of the People

Summary

It’s April, 1959, a respected naval commander comes back from time at sea to find out that his wife is having an affair. Despondent and angry, he drives to the apartment of his wife’s lover to talk to him. The lover ends up dead. The murder trial of Commander Kawas Nanavati captivated Bombay because it had everything—sex, betrayal, intrigue. When the jury verdict came out, many were outraged and they thought the jury system was to blame. The trial came to be known as “The Last Jury Trial in India” because it heralded the end of the jury in India and became a lightning rod for concerns about the jury being corrupted by prejudice and the media.

The Last Jury Trial in India is a four-part series hosted by Sonali Chakravarti, professor of government at Wesleyan University.

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